PDAA's Critical Tools for Success: A How-To

Congratulations for being a member of PDAA, and for joining the primary community for installation professionals. Whether you are an independent installer or an in-house installer for an imaging company, you can benefit greatly from your PDAA membership — if you take full advantage of what PDAA has to offer. Here are some strategies to help you maximize your membership.

Find an Installer Search
A valuable tool to help you gain clients and get the work you want, the Find an Installer Search provides potential clients with direct referrals to PDAA member companies, using geographic location as a qualifying factor. The search can also be used to help installers like you locate other installers to form partnerships, gain additional help for larger jobs, or farm out work that is outside of your geographic area.

Find an Installer search results are organized so PDAA members with Master Certified Status are listed first, followed by Basic Certified and General Members. This way, companies with the highest certification (and highest verified proficiency) rise to the top of the list. If you want your company to be listed in the top level of the search results, then you must seek PDAA certification.

Certification & Training
Becoming either Certified or Master Certified requires much more than an application and a stamp of approval. This is meaningful certification. It is a calling card announcing the credibility and reliability of your installation business. PDAA's certification testing process puts the installer's proficiency to the test, requiring excellence in a wide range of installation activities. A full listing of tested elements can be found in the PDAA Certification Guide. The basic concept is: Train up, then get tested.

It is important to know that PDAA's certification testing tests you on the skills you have, not the skills you need. This leads to the need for training. If you're an installation veteran, you may have come to full proficiency through on-the-job experience, or you may have received full or partial training from an installation trainer. If you do not yet have the skill you need to become certified, PDAA recommends the services of Rob Ivers, PDAA's authorized training and certification provider. He can start you on the path toward certification, and test you when you are ready to become certified.

Your PDAA membership is valuable. If you take the steps needed to maximize your membership, the value of your membership and the profitability of your business will rise.